Woodlands Under 5's Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children clearly enjoy their time at this welcoming nursery. Staff greet children with warmth and care, helping them to detach from their parents. Children form strong bonds with familiar staff. Staff find out key details about children before they attend. They work closely with parents to help provide children with the comfort and consistency they need to feel secure.

The carefully considered curriculum enables children to make good progress in their learning and development. Staff provide a wide range of experiences that appeal to all ages and stages of development. They confidently describe children's interests and use these to engage them in meaningful play and experiences. Staff encourage children to keep trying during activities. The environment is calm and purposeful, and children show high levels of engagement.

The curriculum has a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. Children are encouraged to share details of their diverse backgrounds with friends. For example, they can show photographs of their pets, family, and links to other countries. Children compare the similarities and differences of their culture and find out what makes them special and unique.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Children benefit from the wide range of learning opportunities available to them. The areas of learning are supported, both indoors and outdoors, and staff thoughtfully provide interesting experiences for all. For example, the water exploration area contains a wide range of resources so that children can investigate ice and water. Children use resources with open-ended opportunities, such as shells and metal rings. This gives children the skills needed to fully extend their imagination and creativity.
• Staff introduce some simple mathematics into the daily routine. For example, they count to three as they remove the seeds in a bell pepper. However, staff are not all confident in incorporating number and mathematical concepts into children's play. This does not fully support children to extend their mathematical knowledge and to build on what they know and can do.
• Staff have completed training courses and research to help them improve the curriculum aims, particularly in communication and language. For example, staff use strategies to show children a visual representation of things and simple sign language, to effectively communicate. This helps children who speak English as an additional language and those who need more support with their verbal communication skills, to effectively communicate their wants and needs. On some occasions, however, staff do not fully implement support plans for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) during key routines of the day, such as in their independent play. Therefore, at times, children do not benefit from the consistent approach needed to fully support their progress.
• Staff support children to develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, children have plenty of opportunities to engage in physical play and enjoy a healthy snack while at nursery. Children independently chop and taste real food in the home corner. Staff encourage children to wash their hands regularly and explain the importance of doing so. This helps children to develop good personal hygiene and self-care skills.
• Staff plan trips and outings to broaden children's experiences. This helps children to develop an awareness of the world within their local area. For example, children visit the local nature reserve. They enjoy outings to the local park and use larger equipment to extend their physical skills. Additionally, staff organise an annual trip for parents to attend with their children. This helps to build a strong nursery community.
• Partnerships with parents are positive. Parents express that they feel staff keep them informed about their children's daily routines. They receive regular updates on their children's learning and development and how they can support this further at home. This helps to provide a consistent approach to children's learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of how to implement support plans for children with SEND fully consistently during daily routines
• support staff to introduce more mathematical concepts into everyday play, to extend children's developing mathematical knowledge.